Making a Home for Rescued Prostitutes

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St. Louis, Mo. (KMOX) - A group wanting to rescue women from a life of prostitution says they’ve found a house. Now they need the money to make it a home.

Executive Director of Magdalene St. Louis, Tricia Roland-Hamilton, tells KMOX they want it to be a place of rest and restoration. “Often the women will come into the house and simply want to sleep for days on end. Their bodies are tired. Their emotions are raw. We have to be cognizant of that and give them the kind of care and love that they’re gonna need.”

Magdalene is holding a gala fundraiser on February 20th (click here for more information).

Roland-Hamilton says that event is going to be essential to making sure the group can remodel the home to make it a communal living space. Roland-Hamilton says one important feature will be connecting rooms for the women. “Some of the women coming to the program will want complete privacy. Others will be more comforted if they know someone is right next door and they can open their doors at that point.”

As part of the residential program, the woman will receive life skills training — Roland-Hamilton says many entered a life in the sex trades so young they won’t even know how to cook or budget. “A girl starts prostituting at the age of 13. If we get that women at the age of 28 her maturity level is stopped at the age of 13. So they have very little skills when it comes to living the life that they’re aspiring to.” She says they’ve already been approached by a group of local chefs who want to offer cooking classes. They’ve also heard from stylists who want to give them women monthly makeovers. The residents will also be given support to complete their education or job training. The St. Louis program is modeled after a successful one in Nashville.

Magdalene St. Louis hopes to raise $100,000 to help purchase and rehab the house.